Utilitarianism in Social Media Sharing: Philosophy in Technology Design

Abstract

Social media users exceed the amount of devotees of some religions today; and numbers are not decreasing. The ubiquity of social media and its main product ‘sharing’ does not necessarily mean is the right thing to do. Is it morally correct to participate in the global social network? This paper explores this question through the lenses of John Stuart Mill’s “Utilitarism” and direct experiences of social media interaction. 
The overall objective is to highlight the potential value of philosophical analysis in the technology design process, attempting to rekindle the conversation between the ‘could we’ versus ‘should we’ approaches to technological progress.